Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1) By Parker S. Huntington
This by far has taken me the longest to finish a book as it just dragged on....The first 40% was a confusing mess. I’m still not sure I quite understand it’s purpose other than rambling. From Emery muttering “pretty words”... each chapter was something more rediculous...
Toska.
Lucano.
Kalon.
Anagapenis.
But yet they aren’t pretty words they are just stupid words no one’s heard of. I think this book was written to either make us feel dumb or to prepare for the SAT. Not sure but I’ve done more googling to get the meaning of these words than anything else.
Sisyphus
Morosis
Solivagant
Drapetomania
And the notes that Nash writes to Emery. They aren’t notes but paragraphs of monologues. Who writes such long notes to leave in a lunchbox? It’s like it’s torn out of his diary....
Saudade
Sciamata
Thanatopodia.
More useless words. Yes she’s take to a thesaurus to just add more content and waste our time.
Lagom. Not too little. Not too much. just right. Well this was not that. This story was waaayy over the top.
Nyctophilia.
Basorexia.
Ibrat.
I think Nash even said “what does that even mean.” I’m with him. With all her bantering and weird vocabulary, still more words.
Alexithymthia.
Yup. Still feeling like I crammed for the SAT. Forgot everything I just googled.
Redamancy.
And these words came while Fucking in between thrusts.
Nepenthe.
Moira.
Duende.
Lacuna.
Part 4. Funifugal meaning Prolonging the ending. Why didn’t she take this as advise and cut half this story up and make it flow?
I kept looking at the % to end and it just wouldn’t end!!!
I did slightly like Emery.
I’m sorta not feeling anyone else’s story intriguing in this book and I didn’t really like them much. I really should have given up after chapter 2 but I just had to know if this was how it was going to go. I mostly laughed my way through, and well, it did improve at the very end and that’s why it’s not a flat out 1 star. 1.5 stars. It’s a Hard pass to continue with the series. Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1) {God this review is slightly unhinged…}
#𝟮 𝗥𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 - 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮
Yep. I’m still madly in love with Nash and Emery. They’re so beautifully matched. They’re soulmates and it shows.
I can’t help but devour Parker S Huntington’s writing. Half the things said in this book really made me think and marvel at the ideas. The emotions she makes me feel for her characters? It’s a blessing and a curse. I feel love when they feel love, I embody the pain when they get hurt, I go through everything with them like they are me and I am them. ❤️🩹
Their relationship before everything went down was actually really adorable.
Him taking her side every time? Swoon.
The way he knew her little quirks and thoughts?
Marry me already!
The small moments did it for me. 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘. 👏 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄. 👏 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄. 👏
ALSO THE WHO-DID-THIS-TO-YOU TROPE??
The I-ran-to-his-arms-for-comfort trope?? 🙆♀️
Him slipping his suit jacket over her shoulders?? 🤭
You bet I ate that shit up like a starved seagull 🤠 (by far one of my fav parts in the book—even though the reason for it was disturbing)
He calls her “𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫” and Gah! This nickname for her was the most cutest shit ever and I’m in LOVE. The meaning behind it. The metaphor. Just everything about it is perfect.
𝗡𝗮𝘀𝗵 is so fucking sarcastic I love it. The things he says make me gasp because he’s so unapologetic about the way knows he’s an asshole. And his inner monologue makes me shake with laughter constantly.
What I love more: he’s a grump but still a caring, kind hearted person that’s too hard on himself which Emery notices and cherishes. I love his awareness and philosophical brain.
𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘆. 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘆. 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘆.
I love her so much. She’s has such a beautiful soul which Nash notices and appreciates. I find it so amusing how she manipulates the situation to get what she wants and vice versa. Her obsession with the sky and obscure words made me love her that much more because of the way she used them to explain her unique ideas.
I hate what she went through to get to the end point but it was all worth it 🥹💕
ALSO THE GROVELLING IN THIS BOOK IS 𝙎𝙐𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙄𝙊𝙍. I’m sorry, you can’t convince me otherwise.
The notes?! 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑳𝑼𝑵𝑪𝑯 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬𝑺 𝑾𝑬𝑹𝑬 𝑴𝒀 𝑭𝑼𝑪𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑼𝑵𝑫𝑶𝑰𝑵𝑮.
AHH THE PLACARD DAMN NEAR MADE ME CRY!
Every single page was *MWAH*
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
I’m really looking forward to reading about Delilah’s book bc her energy is what I need in my life.
(The guy on the cover tho 🤌)
𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀: 🎧
H2O - Naïka
Ma Chérie - Naïka
Close - VI NIQ
WHO HURT YOU - Benicio Bryant
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: (I highlighted the 𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘛 out of this book)
“𝐂𝐚𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐞́—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 ���𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.”
“𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐝.
𝐀 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐈’𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐚𝐬𝐡’𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.
𝐇𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, “𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲, 𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫.”
~🤭💗
“𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐈 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲.
𝐈𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐢𝐜-𝐓𝐚𝐜-𝐓𝐨𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐍𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐮𝐩.”
~💘💕
“𝐈’𝐦 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐤. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”
~AWWHH <3
“𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐲”
~😂💃💃
“𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲?”
~I’d like to think so bc if I’m not then my sister’s been lying to me 😂 but damn this really made me put things into perspective
“𝐍𝐚𝐬𝐡’𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬. 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧.
𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬.
𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”
~crying in a bathtub
“𝐍𝐚𝐬𝐡’𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲.
𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞.”
~THIS. RIGHT. HERE. Boyfriend material 💘
“𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦.”
~Why is this so fucking true?!
“𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝.
𝑰 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅.”
~he gets it <3
“𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐲.
𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞.
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭.
𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭.
𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍.
𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐭.”
“𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝.
𝐀 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞.
𝒀𝒂’𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒆.”
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀:
Mr wrong number - Lynn Painter
Misfits like us - Krista & Becca Ritchie
Right - Jana Aston
Vicious - LJ Shen
Corrupt - Penelope Douglas
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#𝟭 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 - 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮
Beautifully written. Their relationship was complex and heavy but their journey was delicious to read.
The tension? SCRUMPTIOUS.
Parker has done it again and I’m in love with these characters.
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
The lunch packs 🥲🤌 Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1) Unexpectedly Amazing!
“Falling in love with you is like diving blindly into a book, not knowing it’s destined to be my favorite. Whatever’s more than love, I feel it for you. I am only ever going to be in love with you.”
Wow, I totally didn’t expect this book and how much I was going to love it. It blew my mind. This book has a gorgeous cover, which is the first thing I noticed. Then it kept popping everywhere and being recommended by a lot of people, and to be honest that always scares me because so many times before I haven’t loved books that everyone else loves. Well, I’m happy to say that this time they were right with the recommendation cause this book was all sorts of amazing and it hooked me from the first word.
This was one amazing childhood friends turned enemies turned lovers story, with the most amazing combination of humor and angst I’ve read in a while. And the writing was just superb! Smart. Funny. Almost Poetic. I totally dig it.
Nash and Emery are basically everything! Emery is my favorite kind of heroine, feisty, strong, smart, simply amazing. And Nash, oh man, love me some Nash. A broken hero with a huge heart that falls madly in love and it’s just incredible to watch his evolution. Can’t get over their amazing chemistry and their ridiculously funny banter. Total equals, just how I love it.
I honestly went into this one completely blind and was fully hooked. There’s so much amazing dialogue and so many feels! Just so many incredible moments and quotes, many twists and turns, and so much swoon-worthy stuff! Bam, hooked, obsessed with this book and this story! And the epilogues!!!! Ahhhh you know how much I love a good epilogue, and this one has two amazing ones.
This is my first book from this author but it definitely won’t be my last. This book was simply perfection from beginning to end, I just couldn’t put it down, it was that good. Like I said, I wasn’t expecting this one but without a doubt it’s one of my favorite books this year. Can’t wait for what will be next in this series. Reed? Delilah? I’m totally in!
PS: The audiobook is also pretty awesome!
“Fate is a hurricane. You think you know where it's going. You think you're safe. And just when you think you’ve weathered the storm, its path moves directly into yours. You, Emery Winthrop, are my hurricane. My fate. My Durga. My Tiger.” Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1) I ABSOLUTELY struggled to finish chapter 8!! I almost cried!
The writing was very descriptive and extended with no reason. There were parts that made me question my no-native english language because I couldn’t comprehend what I was reading and the reason of the plot.
It was indeed slow burn, as the author stated, but too much for my preferences.
This might be an epic love story or a great book, I am trully happy for the readers who were thrilled, but it was not for me.
No, thank you. Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1) 3,5. Well I think this book would be epic if the author didn’t spend pages and pages writing about meaningless stuffs.
Yeah, this story is great with so much potential, but it get boring and unbelievable sometimes. Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1)
characters Ö PDF, eBook or Kindle ePUB free ✓ Parker S. Huntington
**15 hrs, 46 min**
From USA Today bestselling author Parker S. Huntington comes an enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn romance full of revenge and a dash of fate.
“She could enjoy her pretty, perfect world a little longer. Soon enough, everything she owned would be mine.”
I had a plan to escape the friend zone.
Step one: sneak into Reed’s room.
Step two: sleep with him.
But when the lights turned on, it wasn’t familiar blue eyes I saw.
These were dark, angry, and full of demons.
And they belonged to Reed’s much older brother.
Four years later, Nash Prescott is no longer the help’s angry son.
I’m no longer the town’s prized princess.
At twenty-two, I’m broke, in need of a job.
At thirty-two, he’s a billionaire, in need of revenge.
Who cares if my family ruined his?
Who cares if he looks at me with pure loathing?
Who cares if every task he assigns me is designed to torture?
I need the money.
Simple as that.
I’ll suffer his cruelty in silence, knowing there’s one thing he wants more than revenge…
Me.
Note: This is a 145,000-word standalone in the Cruel Crown world. Welcome to Eastridge. Enter if you dare. Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1)
This was an absolute treat. A scorching hot enemies-to-lovers romance, with breathtaking prose and tons of suspense. Highly recommended. Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1) dnf @ 70%
i wanted to be different cause everyone was reading Darling Venom, but this did not work out 🤡 tbh i can't believe i made it this far.
🍁 the writing was a huge problem. things that could've been said in a sentence were said in five. it also seemed like the author went out of her way to use words that would have me feeling dumb af. some things were just so cringy, like:
Emery’s arms wrapped across her chest, because no, I hadn’t been lying. Her nipples were hard as fuck, and they pointed right at me like two tiny sorting hats choosing my lips as their Hogwarts House.
??? why not just say her nipples were hard and leave it there.. what does harry potter have to do with it 💀
and there were SO many sentences in which the author felt the need to clarify things between brackets
(but then not say anything relevant at all).
“Umm…” She upped her smile until she resembled Jack Nicholson’s Joker and snagged a seat on the chair in front of my desk.
(For the record, Heath Ledger played the best Joker, and I’d annihilate anyone who argues with me about it.)
🍁 the second-hand embarrassment i felt whenever Emery (h) spoke..
Tufts of jet-black hair stuck up in several directions on his head, like he couldn’t be bothered to tame it. Cropped closely at the sides, he kept it long on top in silky, uncultivated waves.
Cafuné, I thought, disconcerted when I realized I’d whispered it.
Cafuné—the act of running your fingers through the hair of someone you love.
BHHAHH byeeee. she was obsessed with these weird words that nobody knows the meaning of. it was supposed to be a ✨quirky✨ trait but it was just so annoying to me😭
and she was so fond of embarrassing herself in front of Nash (H). within the first 10% of this novel, an 18-year-old Emery sneaks into her best friend's bedroom and sleeps with him, only to realize too late that she slept with his brother instead (28 y/o Nash). LET'S SUSPEND DISBELIEF and pretend it's possible that none of them realized they weren't who they thought they were. Emery spends the whole thing thinking she's fucking 18-year-old Reed, Nash's brother. but then when they turn on the lights and Nash confesses he thought she was someone else too, she blurts out:
“You fucked me thinking I was someone else?!”
My hypocrisy wasn’t lost on me. So what if I thought he was his brother? It was different. I was in love. He thought I was a married woman. Okay, we both mistook one another for other people, but for my sanity’s sake, I needed to believe we were different.
hahah okay babe whatever you say😭
the betraying body syndrome was strong with Emery. Nash would treat her like shit, and she'd be salivating over him 😭 for the record, i don't really like Nash either, but he said it perfectly here:
How desperate for attention was she that she needed to break into my penthouse and strip in my shower?
the nail in the coffin was when she let him stick a CABINET KNOB up her ass the first time they have sex after they reunite omg.. i was not ready for that🥴 also, this book was released during L.J. Shen's chisel/chocolate bar phase, so to me this just proves Parker Huntington and her are in fact the same person 😌
🍁 Nash was pretty insufferable too. when you feel the need to mention every five pages how big your dick is? sorry but that just screams small dick energy to me 😌
Emery needed money like I needed a bigger dick. Any more would be excessive.
Pressing the return button, I spared the guy feelings of inadequacy at the sight of my dick and stepped into the en suite bathroom before stripping out of my black Calvin Kleins.
okay baby WE SEE YOU!! i know you have a big dick you don't have to remind me all the time🥰
also, i understand that he was hesitant towards Emery because of the 10 year age gap, but the way he phrased it sometimes was not it 😭
I finished college and knew the ins and outs of anal while she still thought she pees and fucks from the same hole.
i don't know. it just grossed me out.
🍁 last but not least, the plot.. too many things were happening at once, and at the same time, nothing was going on. this book had SO MANY TROPES and i could never figure out where this was all going. guess i'll never find out because i dnfed the book 🤪 but to name a few, this had enemies to lovers, rich girl/poor boy (in the past), rich boy/not-so-rich heroine (present), heroine working for the hero, age gap, PENPALS (?!), etc. the penpals plot was by far the worst of all. how very convenient that these two have been messaging through an app for three years, sexting, saying I love you to each other yet never meet 🤨
there are at least three instances in which these two characters interact but DON'T RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER even though they have known each other THROUGHOUT THEIR WHOLE LIVES. like basically grew up together. first they have sex without recognizing who they are (!?#$#& you would think Emery would realize she's not fucking an 18 year old and viceversa😭). then they meet at an elevator and because the lights go out, Emery doesn't know who she's talking to🤪 and then last through this messaging app.. where they talk for fucking years.
i can't. i just can't. i'm tempted to rate it 1 star. at first i kept reading because i thought they had chemistry, but not even that interests me anymore. the inner monologues are so incredibly long and boring. moral of the story: should trust the 1 star reviews next time 🥰 Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1)
I've read quite a number of patronizing & condescending authors whose primary aim is to SHOW the reader just how smart they are.Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1)
Mostly they'll quote Homer or Dante or whomever they deem is lofty enough thinking it makes them seem smart.
FYI: it only makes you look pretentious while highlighting your lack of skill in writing a story that resonates.
Unfortunately, Huntington seems to have a Masters in gratuitous words that don't move the plot along hence the reason this book is a 700-kindle-page giant fluffball.
Yeah, no thanks.
'DEVIOUS LIES' is the first full length romance book in 'Cruel Crown' series, by new to me author Parker S. Huntington.
Now and then you'll come across a book that is SO PHENOMENAL it sets itself apart from every other book you've read and leaves you FLABBERGASTED.
So today I kind of look bleary eyed and not so bushy tailed! I look as though I’ve been pulled through a hedge backwards!
Even though I cringed when I saw the amount of pages facing me, snail reader here, I kind of inhaled this one, devoured it, sleep is over rated anyways!! Because once started I literally could not put this down! Midnight zoomed past and I saw 3am in still with my nose in this book!
A slow burn that consumed all my waking moments! God how I loved these two characters, this book was beyond unique, sooooo many quotes were saved, all I see is a rainbow of highlighted words!
What a way to celebrate December, throw in a new to me author, an easy 5 star read, and characters that I loved equally, this book was the perfect reading material for a shitty cold rainy day! It did drag on a tad too long but overall I still enjoyed this..
Highly recommend!!
Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1)
“Why is it that two people never realize how much they love each other until one of them says goodbye?”
I picked this up for two reasons:
-THE COVER
-Iqra loved it, and if Iqra likes a book, it means it must be awesome.
🐯𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗦 - 𝗕𝗬 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗥 𝗦. 𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗢𝗡🐯
★𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
★𝗬𝗔/𝗡𝗔/𝗔: 🅽🅰/🅰
★𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦: 𝙲𝚁𝚄𝙴𝙻 𝙲𝚁𝙾𝚆𝙽 #𝟷 𝙱𝚄𝚃 𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝙱𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝙰𝚂 𝙰 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙰𝙻𝙾𝙽𝙴
★𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦: 𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 - 𝚂𝙼𝚄𝚃 - 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙺𝙿𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙴 𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 - 𝚂𝙴𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙳 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴
★𝗣𝗢𝗩: 𝙳𝙾𝚄𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙿𝙾𝚅 - 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃 𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽 - 𝙿𝙰𝚂𝚃 𝚃𝙴𝙽𝚂𝙴
★𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: 𝙱𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙵𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙳'𝚂 𝙱𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁/𝙱𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁'𝚂 𝙱𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙵𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙳 - 𝙴𝙽𝙴𝙼𝙸𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝙵𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙳𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂 - 𝙼𝙸𝚂𝚄𝙽𝙳𝙴𝚁𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂 - 𝟷𝟶 𝚈𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚂 𝙰𝙶𝙴 𝙶𝙰𝙿 - 𝙶𝚁𝚄𝙼𝙿𝚈 𝚡 𝚂𝚄𝙽𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙴 - 𝙱𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙸𝚁𝙴 𝙰𝙻𝙿𝙷𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙷𝙾𝙻𝙴 𝙼𝙼𝙲 - 𝙷𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚂 𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚈𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝙱𝚄𝚃 𝙷𝙴𝚁 (𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙼𝙾𝙼) - 𝚂𝚃𝚄𝙲𝙺 𝚃𝙾𝙶𝙴𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 - 𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚁𝙴𝚃 𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙴𝚂 - 𝙵𝙰𝚃𝙴 𝙾𝚁 𝙲𝙾𝙸𝙽𝙲𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 - 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙺𝙿𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙴 𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 - 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙲𝙴𝙳 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚇𝙸𝙼𝙸𝚃𝚈 - 𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚁𝙴𝚃𝚂 - 𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙷 𝚃𝙾 𝙿𝙾𝙾𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚅𝙸𝙲𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙰
★𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: 👥👥👥👥/5
★𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼/5 (𝚂𝙾 𝚂𝙾 𝚂𝙾 𝙶𝙾𝙾𝙳)
★𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧: 📜📜📜📜/5
★𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗦 & 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦: 💀💀/5 (𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙽𝙶𝙴 𝙿𝙻𝙾𝚃 - 𝙳𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙷 𝙾𝙵 𝙰 𝙿𝙰𝚁����𝙽𝚃 - 𝙿𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚃𝚈 - 𝙷𝚄𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁 - 𝙿𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁 𝙸𝙼𝙱𝙰𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 - 𝙳𝙸𝚂𝙵𝚄𝙽𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻 𝙵𝙰𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙸𝙴𝚂 - 𝙿𝙰𝚂𝚃 𝚃𝚁𝙰𝚄𝙼𝙰 - 𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙻𝙳 𝙿𝚂𝚈𝙲𝙷𝙾𝙻𝙾𝙶𝙸𝙲𝙰𝙻 𝙰𝙱𝚄𝚂𝙴 - 𝙰𝚃𝚃𝙴𝙼𝙿𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙴 - 𝚅𝙸𝙾𝙻𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴
★𝗦𝗠𝗨𝗧 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🔥🔥🔥/5 (𝙸𝙵 𝙰𝙳𝚄𝙻𝚃 𝚆𝙷𝚈 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙺𝚈)
★𝗦𝗠𝗨𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 & 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🚒🚒🚒/5 (𝚄𝙽𝙵𝙾𝚁𝚃𝚄𝙽𝙰𝚃𝙴𝙻𝚈 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝙰𝚂 𝚂𝙼𝚄𝚃𝚃𝚈 𝙰𝚂 𝙸 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝙸𝚃'𝙳 𝙱𝙴)
★𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦: 🤐🤐🤐/5 (𝙲𝚄𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙶 - 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝙸𝙲 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝚂𝙴𝚇/𝚅𝙸𝙾𝙻𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴)
★𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘: 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹/5 (𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚂𝙴 𝚃𝚆𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚂𝙴 𝚃𝚆𝙾𝙾𝙾𝙾𝙾𝙾𝙾𝙾���𝙾𝙾𝙾𝙾)
★𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘: ✔️
★𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘: 𝙵/𝙼
★𝗥𝗘𝗣: 𝙽𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝙻𝙴𝚅𝙰𝙽𝚃
★𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗘𝗦-𝗧𝗢-𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5 (𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝙸𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙷𝙰𝙳 𝙼𝙴 𝙾𝙽 𝙼𝚈 𝙺𝙽𝙴𝙴𝚂)
★𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗚: 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝚁𝙴 𝙰𝙻𝙱𝚄𝙼 𝙱𝙻𝙾𝙾𝙼 𝙼𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙽 𝙱𝚈 𝙷𝙰𝚉𝙻𝙴𝚃𝚃
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
If you go into this thinking it'll be the umpteenth novel filled with flying dicks and acrobatic sex, you've picked up the wrong book.
Don't get me wrong, dicks are flying and there's some smut, but this book is SO MUCH MORE than that.
It's not a 700-page long monstrosity for nothing, after all.
Devious Lies is the story of two souls who have lost their way and are trying to find it back, and end up finding each other (again) in the process.
If you read my little info recap up there, you might have noticed that the list of tropes goes on and on; this novel is, in fact, a trope soup that will leave you full for days. At first I coudln't decide if the thought of so many romance novel clichéès bothered me or amused me, but Huntington's writing was so good, the story so engrossing, the characters so deliciously flawed and imperfect yet so lagom, I couldn't help but let that one slide and go with the flow.
I enjoyed this way more once I decided to take it for what it was: a grandiose love story peppered with suffering and redemption and forgiveness and lies and cute words and a dog that looks like a rat and two main characters I'll probably remember for the rest of my days.
It was very emotional and very very very addicting.
There were so many things I loved about this book: the writing (honorable mention to the double pov that gave me two distinct voices thank god hallelujah), the plot, the romance, the s t e a m, but I'd like to repeat myself and praise the characterization of both Emery and Nash and their superlatively done romance and their even more remarkable connection.
I mean. Sure, you can tell this is fiction. The dialogues and actions felt very overblown sometimes (almost no one in real life talks like these two, but we're okay with that, but just in case I'll leave this here...👀) and it all was pretty cheesy and fanfictionesque at times, but it was the sort of cheese you'd put on a fuming plate of pasta.
The unnecessary yet infinitely enjoyable ultimate touch you can't help but appreciate.
I recommend this to hopeless romantics, people who daydream as a hobby, Greek mythology enthusiasts, those who love a histrionic dialogue, the brave souls who don't mind a trope or a hundred.
And obviously, I recommend this to whoever has eyes, too, of course, because that impossibly hot COVER is the cherry on top to a cake you didn't know you needed in your life, but definitely do.
Trust your penguin. You'll have your hands, stomach, heart, full for days.
Bon apétit.
🚩𝙿𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙱𝙻𝙴𝙼𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙲 𝙲𝙾𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝙰𝙻𝙴𝚁𝚃!*🚩
*𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜, 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍/𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌/𝚝𝚘𝚡𝚒𝚌/𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎.
𝙸, 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠, 𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚣𝚘𝚗𝚎, 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎:
-𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢;
-𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎;
-𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜/𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜/𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗;
-𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚂𝙴 𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺𝚂, 𝚢'𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠? Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1)
