Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Liars
SERIES: Licking Thicket Book #2
AUTHOR: Lucy Lennox and May Archer
NARRATOR: Michael Dean
PUBLISHER: Self published
LENGTH: 9 hrs and 42 mins
RELEASE DATE: November 04, 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:
If you told yourself you’d be able to put this book down after you started reading, that was a lie. If you convinced yourself this book couldn’t rival Lucy Lennox’s Made Marian or May Archer’s Love in O’Leary, that was also a lie. If you thought our audiobook narrator, Michael Dean, couldn’t possibly make this book any better than it is on paper (or screen), you were lying to yourself again. And if you met adorably anxious Parrish and sweet Diesel and Marigold in this absolutely endearing, hysterical, lovely story and believed you wouldn’t fall in love with them or this book, … well, that was your biggest lie of all.
Liars is an engrossing story of two lovely men living in the even lovelier, albeit quirky, small town of Licking Thicket, who find their place with the townspeople and with each other – and it is full of love and laughter. The book is aptly titled because there is indeed a whole lot of lying going on. The obvious is the fake fiancé premise: Diesel and Parrish lie to everyone, pretending to be engaged to help Diesel secure custody of his niece Marigold. But that’s deceptive because the real lies are told by Diesel and Parrish to each other, and to themselves.
Diesel is the epitome of “looks can be deceiving”. On the outside, he’s this mountain of a man, owner of a junkyard, all tattooed up, withdrawn and seemingly gruff, while on the inside, he is a soft-hearted, lonely man who’s been left behind by everyone he loves and is now living on the outskirts of town, not feeling like he belongs. Diesel is a well of untapped love and affection, but he’s lied to himself; he’s bought into his own inner monologue that he’s not good enough and that he has nothing to offer. He so desperately wants to keep precious Marigold, his niece who has been unexpectedly left in his care by his recently deceased sister, but doesn’t believe he is worthy or capable. In actuality, he has an enormous capacity for love and the natural disposition and attitude to be an amazing, supportive parent who will do everything in his power to ensure Marigold gets all the best in life. After all, this is a man who treats his chickens like royalty, building them elaborate enclosures and feeding systems with all the accoutrements (they have a Pullet Palace and even a Chicken Swing!). He’s named them and learned their individual personalities, and he talks to them and treats them like they are precious and valuable, and not just for their eggs. He treats them like his own children.
Then we have Parrish – absolutely adorable, anxious, soliloquizing Parrish who opened his heart and soul to his ex-fiancé, Payne, and his young boys just to have it all cruelly yanked away. He’s devastated by the loss and is so afraid of opening up his heart again. His decision making about Diesel’s desperate plea for his help in securing custody of Marigold is just heart-breaking. It is so obvious how much he wants to help and how attracted he is to Diesel, but he’s afraid. He buys this enormous basket of baby things for Diesel as a “Sorry I can’t marry you” apology basket, and then bumbles his way through telling Diesel “no” with a run-on, rambling speech that is both hysterical and poignant at the same time – that’s quite a writing feat to achieve.
Parrish and Diesel as a couple are life. Sweet and loving, dedicated and doting, over-the-moon over Marigold, so clearly in love with each other, and hot AF in bed. It’s everything you could want in a romance and when you add in a baby … mic drop.
This whole story and the characters are amazing, but the main reason why is because Lucy and May’s writing is sublime. The dialogue is funny, clever, touching and always on-point. You have scenes like the aforementioned “Parrish-trying-to-turn-Diesel-down” scene juxtaposed with a scene like the hysterical double-entendre laced conversation with Amos Nutter at the fair. (That dialogue is worth the price of admission in and of itself.) And then you have what is likely the best scene in the whole book, which somehow manages to magically deliver heartbreak, humor and romance all at the same time. It also takes place at the fair and it is notable because it bookends something powerful and heart-wrenching with an absolutely inspired, hysterical response. Diesel shows up at the fair with his lawyer in tow and witnesses a scene that could unravel the whole fiancé lie, and it devastates him. We know this not because we are told that’s how he feels, but through an amazing description of Diesel’s facial expressions as he registers the impact of what he’s seeing. This is immediately followed by Parrish frantically embarking on a reckless, and frankly implausible, attempt to fix the mess, and the clever writing and lively character interactions as that resolution plays out are funny and heartwarming, with it ultimately ending in some serious romance and low-level steam. Writing that can achieve all of that simultaneously is next-level, and that’s what you get throughout this book.
I listened to the audiobook while doing a second read of the book and I was shocked at how much Michael Dean’s narration elevated it. Seriously, I did not think it could get better but somehow, he managed it. If you haven’t listened to Michael Dean before, I highly recommend you go check out his library of M/M romance audiobooks. His voice is so versatile that no two books or characters are the same. He has an uncanny way of translating the dynamics and mood of the story into his narrating style. He understands exactly how the characters would feel and how they would deliver a line and he narrates it with the perfect pacing, emphasis, and intonation to match. Add to that his typical on point diction and range of voices and you have the perfect audiobook.
I highly recommend reading this book, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t listen to it too. It can be read as a stand-alone, but the first book in the series, Fakers, is also excellent and will give you a bit more color and context about the town and some prominent side characters (Ava, Mal and Brooks). Not necessary, but definitely enriching. So jump into the world of Licking Thicket and Joyous Pickin’ Tidings to you! You will definitely be missing out if you don’t experience this book – and that is no lie.
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