Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Liars

AUTHOR:  Lucy Lennox and May Archer

SERIES:  Licking Thicket

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  307 pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 27, 2020

BLURB:

Parrish Partridge’s True Facts:

There’s nothing hotter than a tall, gruff, bewildered, tattooed mountain of a man cuddling a sweet, orphaned baby, so you can tell yourself that you’ll resist him…

But that’s a lie.

And when that man asks you to do him a favor and pretend to be his very temporary, very fake fiance to help him get custody of that adorable baby, you can pretend you know better than to say yes…

But that’s a lie, too.

And when you actually get to know your kind, strong, pullet-loving prince of a fiance, and all his crazy, lovable, meddling neighbors, you can tell yourself you’re not really falling for Diesel Church and the town of Licking Thicket…

But that might be the biggest lie of all.

REVIEW:

Oh, Licking Thicket! The more I’m immersed in this wacky town, the more I want to visit it and meet the eccentric Thicketeers. My town suddenly seems quite boring.  

Liars is a warm and hilarious story. We first met its heroes, Diesel and Parrish, in Fakers, the first book of the Licking Thicket series. Diesel Church is the sexy, heavily inked junkyard owner. He apparently inspired the way-hot cover model, who in turn, inspires my own licking fantasies. Diesel, a friend of Mal’s, is quiet and sticks to the fringes of the town happenings. Parrish Partridge is the dorky nephew of Beauregard Partridge, founder and CEO of a chain of BBQ restaurants. Nashville resident, Parrish, is in Licking Thicket to open a new location.  

These are two sympathetic characters who are both gentle and caring toward each other. I love Diesel so much, and feel so bad for this struggling man. He’s overwhelmed and alone in the world, so out of his league on the legal front, and just wants to get custody of his niece after his sister dies. He doesn’t realize what a miracle it is when he encounters Parrish on a staircase in the courthouse. Diesel is trying to comfort his screaming and spitting up – but precious – baby girl, Marigold, while waiting for his custody hearing. Parrish, who loves babies, comes to his rescue. Before long, Parrish is posing as Diesel’s fiancé to strengthen his case in the custody battle. He jumps in with both feet to help with the baby, despite some misgivings. 

These two don’t have the strongest communicating skills. Diesel feels inadequate and undeserving of Parrish, who is keeping a big secret from his past. All of it gets in the way of their relationship progressing past being fake. They don’t have any trouble in bed, though. The story builds up to an explosive first time together.  

What set Fakers apart was its bawdy sense of humor and its fantastic cast of characters. The theme continues in Liars with more colorful characters and many, many laugh-out-loud moments. All of our favorite Licking Thicket characters are here, including Brooks and Mal, Ava and Paul, Dunn, and Beau. The very likable Ava has a substantial role meddling in the best of ways. Miss Sara, owner of the B&B where Parrish is staying, is an enjoyable new character who doesn’t get to talk much *wink*. Dunn’s friend, Tucker, is a new guy we’ll be seeing more of as Dunn’s love interest in book three, Idiots. Diesel owns a flock of chickens, and chickens are to Liars what cows are to Fakers. There are more silly festivals, The Devoted Dogs, a family values loving motorcycle club, and a can’t be missed, outrageous conversation with Amos Nutter describing apple bobbing to poor Parrish. Just think of all the previous licking jokes, this time with nuts, and you’ll get the idea. 

If you read Fakers, this book is a must. If you’re a fan of either Lucy Lennox or May Archer’s small town sensibilities, this book is a must. If you’ve never read anything by either author but would enjoy two adorable men falling in love amidst fowl running rampant, a beautiful baby girl, and all the best friends/nosy townsfolk anyone could wish for, this book is a must. It’s cleverly written in a way that could comfortably read as a standalone, but there’s no good reason to skip it’s predecessor. I highly recommend Liars.  

RATING:  

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon