January 13. 2014
Deception
by: Evie Rose
4 Stars ★★★★
Blurb ~ After years of abuse, Roxi is an expert at deceiving the people around her. Everyone believes she has a picture perfect family, with a loving husband and a sweet little boy. They think she resides in a beautiful house and has a luxurious lifestyle, although, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Underneath the facade is a tormented soul, poised on the brink of giving up hope of ever finding a better tomorrow.
Luke’s past haunts him every single day. Not a second goes by without deep sorrow plaguing him. He will never forget what he’s done, he doesn’t want to. No one is more deserving of guilt eating away at them than he is… or so he believes. He spends his time, forever trying to make up for the one mistake that ruined the lives of his loved ones, as well as his own.
From the first time they meet, cracks begin to form in the mask Roxi wears and Luke sees right through them. The only question is, will he realize he’s worthy of love and step in to save her before it’s too late, or continue to think he’s undeserving of true happiness?
My Review
So I’ll admit I didn’t apparently enjoy
this as many other readers did. Don’t get me wrong it was good, but I found
myself occasionally getting bored and hoping things would speed up. Roxi is a
stay at home mom living in hell with her husband. He’s verbally abusive to both
her and their son but Roxi is stuck, unsure how to leave without the world
tumbling around her.
Luke has an insane past. At a young age,
he accidentally lost his family and blames himself till this day. After meeting
while running at the park, both Luke and Roxi build some sort of acquaintance.
Roxi immediately lets it be known that she is married and is a mother. Luke is
barely deterred, especially after he witnesses her scumbag husband screaming obscenities
and slurs at her. Luke is determined to be a rock and helping hand to Roxi.
Over time Roxi gains the courage to
leave. Unfortunately for her, her husband is unwilling to let her and their son
leave easily. After attempting to kill them by setting a fire, he flees.
Luckily Luke and his fellow firefighters are on the way and manages to save
Roxi’s son and Roxi with only minor burns.
Roxi’s accident brings back so many
memories for Luke that it’s a constant battle for him but he pledges to protect
her and her son no matter the cost. He couldn’t protect his family, so maybe there’s
some redemption in saving Roxi. The two face an undeniable attraction from the
first meeting but obviously wedding vows and douche bag husbands make their
attraction hard to act on. Not to mention Roxi hasn’t felt desirable in far too
long. (At this point I would like to point out there is a rape scene so be
warned.)
Luke convinces Roxi to move in with him.
Though nothing romantic happens, the feelings and sexual tension grows. Both
are hesitant to act on their feelings as technically Roxi is still married and
her husband is awaiting trial. Weeks pass and eventually they can’t resist.
I was very glad by how long it took for
these two to hook up. I know, considering most of the book passes with only a
few kisses but it just worked both for their personalities and the fact that
Roxi is still getting over her abusive relationship and trying to live on her
own and support her son.
Her son was a great supporting
character. Even though Luke was a bit scared and unsure how to behave, his past
allows him insight into his feelings and these two bond as well. As always I
love having kids in stories as they say the funniest things. Luke and Roxi’s
night of adult fun is a giant joke in the morning when Ricky tells Luke its
okay to pee in your bed as he goes to washed his ‘soiled’ sheets. Total LOL
moment.
Overall I enjoyed this book but it was a
bit to cut and dry for me. The danger and suspense only hit a high early on and
sort of faded out. Much like I felt the rest of the story. It flows on and on
and Roxi grows into a new woman, but I was often bored at times, even while I
needed to know if these two would finally get together and have a HEA. There
was nothing too unexpected and I was more put off by Luke’s self demeaning
nature than anything else. It probably doesn’t seem like it but I did enjoy the
story. There was no epilogue so I did stew over that but I was still pleased
with the ending. If there’s more to come from this series, I’m definitely on
the waiting list.
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