The Truth About Lilly
by Christy McKee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Disgraced…
Lilly
Talbot never imagined she would be starting her life over again. Losing her
good name for something she didn’t do has driven her to move into an old lake
house she inherited in Vermont Lake Champlain . Even more upsetting, the man who can fix
it will only agree if she trades him room and board for his labor. What will
the good people of Haley think of her sharing a house with the handsome
bachelor?
A man
with a past…
Connor
“Mac” McQueen, once one of the infamous Whiz Kids of Wall Street, spent three
years in prison for insider trading. Only one thing sustained him during his
time inside, the thought of owning Point Cottage, a home he’d fallen in love
with years ago. He plans to turn the house into a stunning showcase for his
eco-friendly home construction business.
Secrets
and lies…
Now
someone’s trying to drive Lilly from her home. Is it someone from her past? Mac
has secrets of his own-- that could ruin lives if revealed. But if Lilly and
Mac are to have a future together they must first delve into the past for
answers and accept some difficult truths about each other. Only then, will they
know if true love is in their hearts.
My Review:
It 's a funny story, romantic and sexy, on the possibility of starting over in life.
Lilly is in debt: her husband died leaving her in trouble, her mother-in-law hates her and goes around vilifying her. Lilly's father is in prison, she has always tried to hide it but her mother-in-law has taken advantage of her weakness and spreads the word among journalists. The only thing that remains to her is a house in Vermont. She abandons her life of luxury in Atlanta to go in the small town of Haley. Here she has a chance to start all over again and a roof over her head. Upon arrival, however, makes a bad discovery: in the home lives there Mac, a nice guy who is handling the restoration of the house and as payment has asked only to live there. Lilly would not want to agree to share the house with this unknown: in the country what would they say? But the house can not face the harsh winter of Vermont without repairs and she has no money to pay them so she is forced to accept. Mac also has a past to forget. Will they really start to live again? Will they do this together?
Mac is a nice guy who did four years in prison. He moved to Haley to start over and make a name as a manufacturer eco friendly. It 's easy to fall in love with him, many women in the country, free or not, they are. Lilly is a woman disappointed, hurt but with great strength and courage: at age 34 has already suffered a lot but really want to start a new life. She's afraid of her feelings for Mac: the beginning trying to protect herselves with the invention of a husband who can arrive at any moment. Will she be able to open her heart to Mac?
I loved the way slowly you have created a relationship between the two protagonists: their first encounters are really funny
The romance is written very well, especially the descriptions of the places, of the food, seems to be there, to feel the flavors and aromas.
I recommend it to those who love romance
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EXCERPT:
"Holy Christ," Val said when he saw the appetizer
buffet on the coffee table. "Did your landlady make all this?"
Here it comes, Mac thought. "Yeah, she's a really good
cook."
"I'll say," Val agreed, stuffing a second meatball
into his mouth. "Where is your Mrs. Talbot, anyway? Watching the game at
the senior center ?" He snagged
another meatball.
Brady devoured a little brown puff filled with crab salad.
"Man, these things are addictive. Val, try one."
He did and rolled his eyes with pleasure. "Do you think
she might want to come work for me as my cook?" He grabbed another puff
off a copper platter.
"No, Val." Mac frowned at him. "Besides,
she's a little old compared to your usual demographic." Every time he saw
his friend’s photo on-line or in a news article he usually had some
twenty-something super model hanging on his arm.
"So? I don't care if she's in her seventies, if she can
cook like this, I'll make it worth her while."
Mac was about to respond when the door to Lilly's studio
opened and he froze. Gone were the pink capris and baggy UGA sweat shirt she'd
had on a while ago. She'd transformed
into a goddess. Wearing knee high black leather boots, tight black jeans and a
form fitting, cleavage revealing, baby blue sweater, she descended the stairs
to a room filled with men staring up at her in awe.
Val, the womanizer and seducer with probably a one hundred
percent successful seduction rate, stood up. He knocked Eric's knees out of the
way so he could reach the bottom of the steps before she did.
"Mac has to be the luckiest man in the world." He
smoothly took her elbow as if she wasn't capable of making it down the last
step. "Valan Sinclair," he offered. "It's a pleasure to meet
you."
Mac could tell Lilly was trying to place Val but came up
empty. Good. Val always got way more than his fair share of fame and fortune
because he was a hot shot thriller writer. Not being recognized would probably
wound his pride. Just the thought made Mac smile.
Val pulled her arm through his and guided her into the room.
Mac wanted to knock him into next Tuesday for taking Lilly over like she was
his date or something. Instead he stood up to make the introductions.
"Everyone, this is Lilly Talbot from Atlanta
"It's nice to meet all of you," she said.
"Looks like you boys were hungry."
Probably a lot more now that Lilly had joined the party, Mac
thought, dropping back into his seat on the couch. She bent down to retrieve
two empty copper trays, unknowingly offering a tempting view of her ample
cleavage. Four pairs of eyes riveted on her mouth watering breasts. Shit. Why
did she have to pick tonight to break out with beautiful and sexy? Usually, everything
she wore was several sizes too big.
Mac popped out of his seat like a jack in-a-box to get Lilly
out of their line of sight. He wasn't about to have the guys ogling her.
"Here, let me help you. Lilly, you should not be carrying these
trays." He picked up the empty
copper chafing dish and hustled her into the kitchen away from the lecherous
eyes of his friends.
"What's wrong with you?" she hissed at him.
"You almost knocked me down." Not waiting for an answer, she turned
to refill the trays with crab puffs and smoked ham pinwheels.
"Well, uh, it's that sweater, for starters." And
those long legs of yours in tight jeans that hugged her in all the right places
and black boots with the highest heels he'd ever seen.
"This is one of my favorite designers. I love this
sweater."
"Yeah, well does this designer have a proclivity for
plunging necklines? Because everyone can see from here to China
"Oh for Pete's sake, Mac. There's nothing wrong with my
sweater." She poked him in the chest with a spatula. "But there's
something wrong with your mind. It's always in the gutter."
She pulled a plate out of the cupboard and put a few crab
puffs, pinwheels and meatballs on it. Great. She'd really made him feel like a
heel. He couldn't help himself. He didn't like the idea of any of the guys
getting an eyeful of her assets.
"Look, Lilly..."
She shoved a tray into his gut. "Fine. You take the
trays out then come back for the chafing dish." She bent over to turn the
oven on.
Mac caught himself staring at her heart shaped ass then
abruptly turned away to deposit the refilled trays in the living room. He
really was concerned she was going to strain her right hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Christy McKee
began her career in TV news and eventually found her way into advertising and
finally fiction. She believes a good story should be about characters who win
your heart, sometimes move you to tears and occasionally make you laugh. As a
reader, Christy hopes you'll be swept into her characters' lives enjoy getting
to know them, experience the challenges they endure and be with them when they
come out on the other side.
Christy will be awarding a $40 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
I really enjoyed the excerpt and the review! You for giving more insight into the plot of this book! You gave tidbits of information without spoilers. I thank you for that!
RispondiEliminaWhat I liked best about this post is the review and the excerpt from the book. Now I really want to read it.
RispondiEliminaWhat I liked best about today's post is the excerpt. I REALLY want to read this book!
RispondiElimina