Review for "The Lies of Bryn van Doren" by R.C. Martin

Click on pic to see this book on Amazon! (NOT an affiliate link)

The Lies of Bryn van Doren by R.C. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This one surprised me. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I've had a lot going on lately so I stretched it out, savoring it; but easily could've read it in one sitting. This is a solid 4.5-star novel, maybe even a five if I was still into romance novels... and I only have one "tiny" complaint with the formatting...

Plot: So, it's been a while since I've read a romance novel, and even longer since one grabbed my emotions, even if I wasn't initially into the premise... The PREMISE being one of the "Pretty Woman" trope. But don't get it twisted... our character isn't a street worker, at all. Circumstances just evolve- as they do, that turns this story into THAT trope. Is the plot believable? The real-life aspects and relatability- absolutely. The accidental romance? Eh- I mean, sure? But, isn't that what a romance novel is all about, anyway? The happy accidents that lead us to love? Anywho, major points for the execution of the story are deserved in this area.

Characters: The two main characters, IMO, were fleshed out well enough to be believable within the confines of this type of book. The supporting characters also had distinct voices and a side note... I kinda love the MC's BFF, Stefano.

The Writing: The story itself read well, in 3rd person POV, BUT... there's this thing the author does every few chapters where we go back in time/ see a memory, which is GREAT, BUT- the whole thing is italicized and it for me, is hard on my eyes. That's it. That's my gripe.

In Case You Wanted to Know & Overall: There IS sex in this book and it's descriptive... but let me tell you... here's an area I'm gonna heap some praises on... There is a sexual tension build-up; the MCs don't just start banging right off the bat and ALSO, this book doesn't automatically turn into pages on end of gratuitous sex scenes once they DO. There's actually a story in there, and I APPRECIATE that on so many levels. And that story? Yeah, it made me cry; a couple of times. I ended up getting invested and for that, this book goes in the "Highly Recommended" pile for anyone wanting a beautiful, modern tale of love, in a big city.

View all my reviews