Review - LIAR by Lia Fairchild

Title: LIAR

Series: Liar #2

Author: Lia Fairchild

Release Date: November 3, 2015

When all you’ve known are lies, how do you face the truth? 

My past was a bitch. 

Now it’s come back to haunt me. After months apart, Daniel and I are finally trying to make our relationship work. But my lies run deeper than either of us imagined. Lies so terrible I imprisoned them in the darkest recesses of my mind. Just when my heart begins to come alive, the lies seep out of the shadows…revealing secrets with the power to crush me. 

~ ~ ~ 

Despite both of our troubled pasts, I want her…more than I’ve ever wanted anyone or anything. I’m determined to fight for her—to fight for us—even if it means facing my own demons. I have to reach Gray before it’s too late…before the truth completely destroys her. 

Liar is the second and final book in the Liar series. Compulsive is the first book.

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AMAZON US / AMAZON UK

I anxiously awaited this conclusion to Compulsive. After finding myself shouting the praises of book one, I was a little intimidated to read this one. What if it wasn't as good? What if I didn't like where the story took me after I was already so invested? Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about. It was everything I needed to bring this story to its Ever After. 

Gray is still struggling with her inner demons. She's made progress in her emotional life, and is battling her demons in a healthier way. She is working on the toxic relationship she has maintained with her father, and she is healing the relationships she strained in the past. I was so excited to see her this way, and the biggest trouble she seemed to have was how to work around all the angst of her relationship with Daniel. His inner demons from the past were haunting him big time, and they were doozies. The little detail of Gray having been his patient, and her tenuous grasp on sobriety and mental health don't aid matters in any way. I do admit to a moment of worrying that this book was going to skip so many of the aspects that made its predecessor so amazing to me and focus on the angst. I should have known better. 

Family and friends drop bombshells, as memories from the past resurface and everything Gray thought she knew is challenged. Not just her memories, but her opinions, her relationships, even her sobriety are challenged in a very real and human way. It was so easy to slip inside her mind and see where she was going wrong and realize just how easy it is to sink into that abyss. 

Her relationship with her teenage neighbor is really a huge part of not only the back story, but a very large factor in helping her continue to heal and move forward. Not to mention the relationship is heartwarming and an absolute joy to read about. It is one of my favorite things about these books. 

Watching everything fall apart closer to the end broke my heart. It gave me all the feels, had me screaming at my kindle and anxiously turning pages to see what was going to happen. I couldn't get to the end fast enough, even though I always dread the ending of a good book, so it makes it bittersweet really. I can't complain, the ending was everything I could have wanted. Satisfying, and yet still so real. No magical cures, no perfect fix, but instead two grown people finding out what works for them, and then running with it. I loved it. 

~ Review by George

Lia Fairchild is both a traditionally published and independent author who writes contemporary fiction, chick lit, romance, and mystery/thriller. Fairchild was born and raised in Southern California and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a multiple-subject teaching credential. She is a wife and mother of two teenagers.

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Review - Compulsive by Lia Fairchild

Title: Compulsive

Series: Liar #1

Author: Lia Fairchild
Release Date: May 12, 2015

Lies hurt.

Lies destroy.

But some lies protect…and heal. At least that’s what Gray Donovan had hoped for. She’s a compulsive liar using it as a defense mechanism to survive life and her shattered past.

When she starts seeing therapist Daniel Harrison, she can no longer deny the truths that have haunted her for so many years. She must now stand and face them.

Opening up to Daniel leaves her exposed and vulnerable. When her soul is bared to him, she can’t contain the attraction or the feelings he elicits.

Daniel feels drawn to his new patient, but knows he will have to fight it in order to resurrect Gray from her demons. His will and his judgment are tested when he must overcome his own doubts and face his own secrets.

**Content Warning: Due to language and sexual situations, this book is intended for 18+ Only**

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This was a hard one to put down. It reads a little disjointed at times, because Gray, the main character, is herself disjointed. She struggles with so many inner demons, demons that have made her go to excesses to try to ignore them. All of it in the hopes of forgetting her traumatic past and getting through the day-to-day.

One of Gray's biggest problems is her compulsive lying. She lies to anyone about everything, even when the truth is easier. She has had a couple run-ins with Daniel, a doctor at the practice where she's to receive therapy, and finds him attractive, mysterious, and kind. He seems to actually “see” her somehow, and she won't relent until he agrees to take her on as his patient.

While the sexual tension between the two is obvious, the best parts of this book are when we see Gray's interactions with those she cares about. She wants to get past her inner demons in healthier ways, but is finding it difficult to change the life she's carved out for herself. Being inside Gray's head as she works through these issues is almost heartbreaking. You feel her pain, really experience her struggle. There is just an honest beauty there. The tender flashbacks give such build up into the heartbreak you know is coming when the past is finally revealed. And the secondary characters are so genuine in this book, you care about them and their struggles as much as Gray's, because they are so related to her personal happiness.

I loved watching Gray grow as a character. It was bittersweet watching her make so much progress, changing her relationship with Daniel and offering a glimpse of the opportunities they could have together. I finished this book in a bittersweet mood. Pleased because of Gray's progress towards a more functional lifestyle, hopeful that she will be able to find happiness. And disappointed that it doesn't end here. There is so much story left to tell, and I can't wait to read about it.

~ Review by George

Lia Fairchild is both a traditionally published and independent author who writes contemporary fiction, chick lit, romance, and mystery/thriller. Fairchild was born and raised in Southern California and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a multiple-subject teaching credential. She is a wife and mother of two teenagers.

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