Great book. Highly recommend and will most defiantly read more by this author and suggest to others!

Too Good To Be True was surprising and compelling. It’s rare that I can relate to so many of the characters in a novel, especially when pitted against each other, but Carola Lovering did such an incredible job of showing the many facets of each character. True to human nature, Lovering depicted each person’s strengths, weaknesses, desires and flaws in a way that was impossible not to connect to and understand.

Told through opposing viewpoints from Skye Starling, a rich girl with anxiety struggling to fall in love and find happiness, and Heather Price, a poor teen determined to get out of her small town and make a better life for herself. Interspersed throughout the chapters are also diary excerpts from a third perspective, presumably Burke’s who has loved Heather since they were teenagers and is now conning Skye into loving him.

While I won’t get too into the love triangle because I never want to give too much away, I will say that, for me, Burke was the character who evolved the most. I was ready to hate him and blame him for so many of the problems, but in a lot of ways he just made me sad. I feel bad for that teen who just wanted to be loved by the girl of his dreams and who wanted to protect and help her in the face of so much tragedy. I think Burke took on too much responsibility for Heather and ended up suffocated by it.

There was a ton of foreshadowing from the very beginning to give the reader a glimpse of what was coming, so it wasn’t a particularly twisted thriller, but that didn’t take away from how engaging it was. On the contrary, it made me read the story faster because I wanted to find out what happened and see how much of what I anticipated and guessed and was accurate!

I actually read this novel back in February, but as a sign of a great book, I just couldn’t sit down to review it right away because I was still processing all of my feelings and emotions. Months later, parts of this story have stayed with me and still haunt me a little. I never include spoilers, so comment below if you’re still thinking about Gus or any other aspects of this novel!

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I actually read this book a bit ago and when I sat down to write the review, I couldn't remember any details of the book until I reread the synopsis. In saying that, once I had refreshed my mind on the events of the book, I had enjoyed the storyline. The characters were the love to hate kind, at times I empathized with them and at others I was cursing their stupidity, vindicatory actions and their greed.
Although I didn't find this to be a really good read, it was very enjoyable with enough twists to keep my interest.

Too Good to Be True was an intriguing mystery full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Skye Starling has finally found the man she's ready to spend the rest of her life with and is ecstatic when he proposes. To the world, Skye seems to have it all; she's smart, beautiful, has the perfect guy, and she's from a well-off family. But hidden from the world is the fact she's living with severe OCD. With her chance at the fairytale, Skye throws herself into planning her wedding. But what Skye doesn't know is that Burke Michaels isn't who he claims to be. That's he's already married and is using Skye for his own end.

Too Good to Be True is told in three alternating points of view; Skye's, Burke's, and Heather's (Burke's wife). Skye's perspective is set in present day and we follow her from her engagement onward. Burke's perspective is told in letters/journal entries to his therapist starting from the beginning of his relationship with Skye to the present. Heather's perspective is set in two different time periods; the first half is set thirty years ago and the second in present day. I liked the alternating perspectives as it kept things interesting as you would learn things in one point of view that would soon directly influence another. The author did a great job at making each voice unique, so I always knew who I was reading from.

The characters in this book aren't inherently likeable but that makes them no less interesting. Skye is desperate for love and with her OCD, she feels like it won't happen for her. She's very naïve at times but it comes from a place of wanting to be accepted for who she is which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Burke I had a bit of a hard time with as I didn't see him as charming or sweet or however else Skye saw him. I struggled with the relationship between these two because of this and just couldn't figure out what Skye saw in him. In my mind he was a manipulative liar which made him hard to like but I feel like he was well written for what he was. Heather was the most interesting of the three characters to me. She's quite different in the first half of the book compared to the second, but once you know why she's that way, it makes perfect sense.

Ultimately what dropped this book from a four stars to a three was the ending. I didn't like the ending at all and will explain why under a spoiler tag. (view spoiler)

Overall while I didn't like the ending, Too Good to Be True was still an enjoyable read and I would recommend it if you're looking for an intriguing thriller.

I didn't love Carola Lovering's Tell Me Lies, but Too Good To Be True is a fun read! The story is filled with twists and keeps you guessing. I loved the multiple narrators and the ending was great! I look forward to the author's next book. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Carola Lovering does it again! I absolutely adored her debut novel, Tell Me Lies, and this one was just as good! There is a love triangle that features heavily in this one, but I can't say too much about it without giving the entire thing away. If you are a fan of toxic relationships, full of lies and twists and turns, look no further. You've found your next read. 5 solid stars.

Too Good to Be True by Carola Lovering was entertaining, but very far fetched. Skye fell head-over-heels in love with an an older man named Burke and that surprises her because he does not seem to mind her extreme OCD. Meanwhile, we read his letters to his therapist about their relationship, which tell a very different story. With present day, letters, and flashbacks, the story becomes more and more outlandish and difficult to believe. However, it is a quick read and entertaining like a Lifetime Movie.

Wow! I did NOT see this coming. Throughout this story we meet Skye Starling, a young woman who comes from a well-off family. Skye's mother died when she was young, which crippled Skye with horribly severe OCD. This has caused her to struggle with romantic relationships, but she's finally found love with handsome, older Burke. The problem is, she doesn't know everything about her new fiance.

This story is told through dual timelines. Burke is featured in both timelines; the present with Skye and 30 years earlier with Heather.

When I say I did not see the twist, I mean it! It was incredible. I don't know why I slept on this book for so long. I definitely recommend.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC ecopy! This was sure a good book and I enjoyed every minute of it! It was all about revenge, craziness, and just was an overall great psychological thriller. It was a fast paced book filled with a few twists and turns which I really enjoyed as well. I love a good book with twists, makes the story that much better!
Lookin forward to reading more by this author in the future.

Wow! This book has the twists and turns that keeps you turning the page and staying up way too late. The story grabbed me from the very beginning. I like the multiple POV's that kept me on the edge of my seat. A definite must read!

A strong 4 stars. Brilliantly plotted, character development at its best. What else can you ask of a thriller?

Well that was fun. Twisted and I loved the different perspectives. The audio was excellent. First by this author but definitely not my last.

Wow! What a book! It started out with a bang, all the twist at the end left me gasping! Powerful writing and plotting and amazing characters kept me up reading all night. I hope there’s going to be a sequel. 4 stars. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Too Good To Be True by Carola Lovering is an addictive thriller that keeps you guessing! It revolves around Burke and Heather in the timeline from about 25 years prior. Two teenagers with rough family lives who find each other and promise to seek a better live for themselves out of their dead-end small town. Present day, we meet Burke and Skye, who enjoy a whirlwind romance. Skye is very wealthy and we’re wary of Burke’s intentions towards her. The story is told in all three of their perspectives in dual timelines, which were very well done and came together seamlessly. This and the short chapters kept me engaged. It was a bit of a slow burn for the first half, but really picks up steam as we find out more and action propels the story. I love the twists and turns this book took! I guessed some of the twists, but others really surprised me. A really solid thriller and I can’t wait to read the author’s other book.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Wow! This story comes out strong and kept me reading long after "one more chapter" turned into 10 -12. Differing POV's give a unique look at how each one's story played into the whole. With a twist midway through, the ending will be a huge surprise!

An older man with decades of sobriety behind him, a felony conviction, and a WIFE (!) courts and marries a young heiress who has OCD, consequential past trauma, and is being stalked.

Told in past and present from different POVs ("The truth has to be somewhere in these tangled narratives"), the love and revenge story might reel in casual readers (who don't reside in Manhattan, to lose their place due to involuntary eyerolls), catch them off guard at the turning point à la "The Wife Between Us", and hold their interest even greater after the shift.

It felt to me as though it was written to give rabid fans of twisty tales a smorgasbord that would turn "Gone Girl" on its ear, by incorporating a variety of techniques and elements from other books in the genre; and, in trying too hard to be all things (a jigsaw puzzle/cat and mouse/why- and howdunit), the author had boxed herself into a corner from which she managed to extricate herself — but not cleanly.

Due to the plot structure (confusing sequences: Loc 3504 65%; Loc 3667 68%) and plot devices, it has to explain too much before tying up in a neat little bow.

tl; dr: Overwrought.


TW: sexual assault

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I created a playlist from mentions in the book, and would add to it a song by The Doors:

Earth Wind and Fire – September
Billy Joel – River of Dreams, She's Got A Way, The Longest Time, The Stranger
Beyoncé
Katy Perry – Hot n Cold
U2 – With or Without You
The Beach Boys
Frank Sinatra

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the the review copy of this book in exchange for a review. I have been on a major mystery/ thriller kick and this one did NOT disappoint. The twists and turn and the many different cases of back stabbing were amazing and not in an out landish way at all. When all the puzzle pieces fell into place my jaw hit the floor. I love the character growth in both Skye and Burke and the absolute lengths to which Heather goes to for revenge. 5 star read for SURE!!!

Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering is one of my favorite books of all-time, so needless to say, I was highly anticipating her latest release. While I didn't love it quite it as much, it was still an entertaining psychological/contemporary thriller focused on women in their 20s/30s. I'll read anything she writes!

The first half of this book had a great pace and had me really invested, unfortunately the second half was not as good and the pace slowed along with my interest in how this was going to end. It's an okay psychological suspense book but the the anticlimactic ending just left the whole book feeling flat.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by Loverling and I am hooked - what a suspense it was and what a great psychological thrill! There are usually people that you "love to hate" , but I couldn't bring myself to not like any of the characters that I thought I should dislike. This book contained it all -- great characters, great timeline, thrill, suspense, and the twist is crazy. I thought I had it all figured out, but then another twist happened. Thank you NetGalley.