LITTLE LIES by H. Hunting-review & excerpt tour
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N paper / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 16, 2020
I don’t want you.
You mean nothing to me.
I never loved you.
I turned my words into swords.
And I cut her down. Shoved the blade in and watched her fall.
I said I’d never hurt her, and I did.
Years later, I’m faced with all the little lies, the untruths, the false realities, the damage I inflicted, when all I wanted was to indulge my obsession.
Lavender Waters is the princess in the tower. Even her name is the thing fairy tales are made of.
I used to be the one who saved her.
Over and over again.
But I don’t want to save her anymore.
I just want to pretend the lies are still the truth.
••••••••
REVIEW:LITTLE LIES is a contemporary, new adult, stand alone story line focusing on Lavender Waters, and Kodiak Bowman. LITTLE LIES is set in the author’s PUCKED and ALL IN romance series, and focuses on the next generation of the Helena Hunting’s series characters.
WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Heroine: Lavender Waters (Alex and Violet Waters’ youngest daughter, PUCKED and FOREVER PUCKED couple origin, Pucked Series )
Hero: Kodiak (Kody) Bowman (Rook and Lainey Bowman’s son, A LIE FOR A LIE couple origin, All In Series )
Told from dual first person perspectives (Lavender and Kodiak) covering fifteen years, and numerous time lines, LITTLE LIES focuses on the childhood friends to enemies to lovers relationship between Lavender Waters, and Kodiak Bowman. Years earlier, Lavender Waters was the potential victim of a childhood abduction, and Kodiak Bowman, and Lavender’s twin brother River blame themselves for what almost happened to our story line heroine. Fast forward several years wherein Kodiak becomes Lavender’s protector and guardian until the day their co-dependent relationship and friendship is destroyed by the well-intentioned actions of adults who cared. Focusing on the present, Lavender is about to enter her sophomore year at college, and reluctantly opts to move in with her brothers, bringing her closer to the man who destroyed her heart. Living on ‘hockey row’ near the college in Chicago where most of her siblings and cousins now study and live, Lavender struggles with the toxic relationship between she and Kodiak, a relationship destroyed by the continuing hurt and painful words by the boy / man she once loved. What ensues is the emotional, destructive and heart breaking relationship between Kodiak and Lavender, as our couple traverse a minefield of pain, memories, PTSD and impassioned sadness of the who, how, when and why of a life-long friendship destroyed by secrets and lies.
Both Lavender and Kodiak suffer with severe emotional and physical anxiety, and with it had become one another’s single source of rescue and support but their co-dependent relationship began to worry their parents, and in an effort to protect the children they love, inadvertently destroy the tether that held one another together.
The relationship between Kodiak and Lavender is a volatile friends to enemies to lovers relationship with all of the emotional and heart breaking angst of young love, misunderstanding, regret and obsession. Kodiak and Lavender had been one another’s rock but a tear in their relationship pulled at the seams until there was nothing left to repair. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, energetic and animated characters most of whom are the second generation children of the author’s PUCKED and ALL IN series, as well as the Alex and Violet Waters (Pucked), and Rook and Lainey Bowman (A Lie for a Lie). The requisite mean girls are present and accounted for. I am hoping the author has plans for Lavender’s brothers, their cousins and the numerous friends we met in LITTLE LIES.
LITTLE LIES focuses on the broken and wounded; the tragic and complex lives of the emotional fall-out of a potential tragedy that almost destroyed so many lives. The premise is raw and impassioned; the characters are damaged and barely surviving; the romance is fractured yet the sexual attraction is palpable and angry. LITTLE LIES is a haunting look at two people struggling to come to terms with the past, the present and the foreseeable future.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
My heart seizes and gallops. I miss this version of him: the one that smiles and doesn’t hate me.
He ruins everything a moment later by bellowing, “Who’s fucking in the driveway?”
His gaze moves to Dylan, who looks as horrified as I feel, but as it shifts to me, his smile drops and my stomach tightens.
“You should really go,” I tell Dylan.
“I’ll see you around.” He disappears into his car and barely has the door closed before he’s backing out of the driveway and screeching down the street.
I adjust my backpack on my shoulder and head for the house, steeling my spine and my nerves because Kodiak is still standing in the middle of the doorway, his face a mask of indifference. I try to brush by him, but he stays where he is, making it impossible.
I sigh, exhausted beyond belief. I just want to go upstairs and have a good, cathartic cry. I try to mirror his apathy. “Can you move so I can get into my house?”
His brow furrows as his eyes move over my face. He lifts his hand, like maybe he’s thinking about touching me. There’s no way I can handle that. I jerk back and swat his hand away. “What are you doing?”
“Your lip is bleeding.”
“Don’t act like you actually give a shit, Kodiak.”
“Tell me what happened.” His voice is low and soft, and for whatever reason, that makes me even angrier, so I lash out, wanting to wound him the way he keeps wounding me.
“You, Kodiak. You happened, and you ruined my goddamn life. Now get the hell out of my way.” I elbow past him, almost tripping over several sets of running shoes.
I head straight for my bedroom and lock the door behind me. I slide down the wall until my butt hits the floor and close my eyes, taking deep breaths.
I imagined the concern in his voice.
I imagined the pain that sat heavy behind his eyes.
We see what we want to, not the truth, especially when it hurts.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
FOLLOW: NYT and USA Today Bestselling author of The PUCKED Series, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from contemporary romance to romance comedy, sports romance and angsty new adult romance.
Great review, Sandy. This story looks very emotional and intense.
Terrific review, Sandy. Looks like a great read.
great review, sandy. sounds good. thanks.
Looks great, thanks for the excerpt.
Thanks for another wonderful review and excerpt.
Very nice review and excerpt.
Great review and excerpt, thanks Sandy
Great review, Sandy. Looks good. Thanks.
Wonderful review, Sandy. Sounds great. Thanks.
Great review, thanks Sandy. Congrats to H. Hunting.