Tragic Lies

Rixon High

By: L.A. Cotton

Narrated by: Stefanie Kay, Tyler Darby

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

From USA Today best-selling author L.A. Cotton comes a forbidden age gap romance. Angst...drama...friendship...and football. Will you survive senior year?

Peyton Myers has always been the life of the party.

But behind her smile and sass is a girl lost and alone, searching for her place in the world.

Xander Chase has always been on the outside looking in.

But behind his cool indifference and hard exterior is a guy afraid to open his heart to anyone.

When he saves Peyton from a tragic accident, their lives are entwined forever. But Xander's not the hero of her story...no matter how much she wants him to be.

She’s a girl with her whole life ahead of her.

He’s a guy who is drifting through life.

And although these two lost souls might be able to heal each other, there's one glaring problem. She's still in high school...

And completely forbidden.

Tragic Lies is a 100,000-word stand-alone romance in the Rixon High series. It deals with some sensitive issues that some listeners may find distressing. This book is recommended for listeners 17 and older.

©2021 L.A. Cotton (P)2023 L.A. Cotton

great story

i like how this series brings subject matter to the front that real life people struggle with
. it was easy to empathize with the characters. looking forward to the next book.

LA’s best

Hands down L.A. Cotton's best book to date! Deliciously angsty, tantalizingly forbidden, and vibrating with rich emotional complexity- I could not put this sexy and heartfelt love story down! I am so in love with everything about Peyton and Xander.

I am a bit of an age gap junkie- it’s my favorite trope, and LA beautifully and deliciously highlights the forbidden and taboo aspect here with the titillating thrall of the illicit student-teacher dynamic. It’s yummy and complicated and so very angsty. But what I loved most about this book is the emotional dynamic between Peyton and Xander. They have plenty of push- dynamics keeping them apart- but the pull comes down to their shared grief- how their broken souls understand each other in ways that no one else who loves them truly can. Two people who learn to embrace their scars, love them even, because they see parts of themselves in the other.

“The strongest glass usually shatters the most.” Oh sweet Peyton- she’s so strong, and so shattered. I love Peyton so fiercely. The vibrant, energetic and joyful girl we met has lost herself after tragedy. There is a kinship amongst those of us who've watched a loved one self-destruct in the way her mother did, a kinship I’ve belonged to since I was her age. I felt parts of my own emotional chaos over the death of my father singing off the page. LA so vividly and delicately adds the emotional layers to her character- her guilt, her resentment, her anger, but most importantly, her loneliness and isolation. How lost she is in her pain, a solitude only accentuated by the normalcy surrounding her. Her friends and their families show up for her in big ways- but no one understands truly. Until Xander. And after fate enables Xander to connect with her in another extraordinary way, there is NO denying their link- like one soul living in two bodies.

And Xander- swoon. He’s so complicated and broody and broken. He finds himself as Peyton’s unexpected hero, a role he never wished to play. He’s no one’s hero- he’s done nothing but mess up. But this enigmatic bad boy is in fact a hero. He’s growly, sure, but he’s also protective and empathetic and so loving- he just hasn’t had a place to put all his feelings. Like Peyton- he’s just longed to be loved and accepted, and who knew a girl 10 years his junior would have the emotional strength to heal his heart.

Their connection is intense- emotionally fragile but somehow unshakeable. Their chemistry is passionate, raw, turbulent, ANGSTY, and so beautiful. LA fuses heartbreaking and healing so lovingly- I was captivated by them. And I LIVED for them- the beauty of their woundedness, their tragic beauty, ways in which they heal each other. Two lonely hearts, shattered by tragedy, shuttered emotionally. Two souls who believe happiness doesn’t exist- until they find each other. From turbulence comes peace, from damage comes beauty.

I always love LA’s stories of young love, speckled with heartbreak and angst and deep and powerful first love connections. But, I’ve never been moved by a story in a way that I have this one- this is so much more than first love. She leans into the complexity, the damage and darkness, the melancholic sadness that engulfs these characters- the tragedy. But she also breathes life and truth into them- their story is so raw and vulnerable. My heart broke in places, soared in others. Life is full of unexpected tragedy and pain, but it is also full of unending love and hope. Love is sometimes messy and born out of tragedy, but as Peyton and Xander’s story shows, the right love can heal and restore. The right kind of love is worth the right- and fight they do. I could not love them more- and I can’t wait for more from this amazing world!

age gap romance

Peyton didn't have a great life. Her mom was a drug addict and had men over all the time. She learned to take care of herself at a young age. It wasn't much of a life, but it was life as she knew it.
When her mother killed herself, it broke something inside ner. She felt betrayed, unloved, tortured.
Peyton was drunk, when walking by the river trying to make sense out of life, she ended up almost drowning in the river.
Xander , saw her, dragged her from the river. Wondering if she did this on purpose??
He was assistant coach, she was a student. This makes it taboo.
Both have a darkness inside, Xander trying to stay away from her. she kept trying to get close to him. He was her savior, her hero and lover.
LA Cotton masterfully written this age gap romance with angst, love/hate, the push/pull emotions.
Stephanie Kay, Tyler Darby narration is very good. I enjoyed listening to this story.
🎧🎧audiobookObsession 🎧

Rixon High!!!

Tragic Lies (Rixon High # 2) is the next generation kid's and I didn't read the synopsis as I love everything La Cotton writes. However, when I realized it was Cameron's brother Xanders story I was so excited. I loved Cameron so much and my heartbroke for him and Zander losing their mom at such a young age. I adored Zander as a supporting character and now getting him all grown up was awesomeness. Xander and Peytons story is a forbidden age-gap romance blended with angst, drama, and physical chemistry. An addictive storyline, loved it.

Stefanie Kay, Tyler Darby dual narration brings Zander and Peytons story to reality.

Xander the broken hero and Peyton the broken girl….

When Xander saves Peyton from the river.. she feels like he saved her. But who saved who remains to be seen.

There is so much going on here that may seem wrong to people.. but these two people work.

When it gets rough, Jason reels Xander to leave…. And he does.. but will he stay away?

When the other half of your soil is taken from you, how do you survive?

Awesome book with great narration by Stefanie Kay and Tyler Darby.

Tragedy and Love

Bound by tragedy torn apart by forbidden love Xander and Peyton find a bond in each other that others can’t understand but with him being older than her and part of a family she feels she doesn’t truly belong how could they ever be together? How will others perceive them and what will lie in store for their futures or will it all just crumble because things should not workout for them? I have loved this story from the start and usually I am always iffy when it comes to age gap but I think I handled this one well because I still see Xander as that little guy who depended on Cam so much and loved his family so hard. This book was tragic yet beautiful, the world created by the author came to life while I read it but now getting to hear these characters it adds another level of beauty to it. The narrators bring the emotions to a next level to where you are immersed into their story and can feel everything the characters do but with a little more realism added to it. I loved it!!!

Awesome read

Actual rating 4.5
Want a story that will pull at the heart strings? Then look no further.

I absolutely love this series. It has everything, angst, swoon, tragedy, relatability, drama and so much more.

These characters are probably the most relatable to me in the series so far. Both of them have been through so much and you can definitely sympathise with them in some way. Their chemistry and connection is undeniable and I enjoyed their journey. Both grew in different ways that really complimented each other and they work so well.

The narrators did a great job at bringing this story to life. Each reflected the characters amazingly. Their voices added so much personalities to the characters and added a new experience to reading the story. Their voices complimented each other and their tones were easy to listen to.

Great book in the Rixon series. I can’t wait to see more.

Angsty!

I loved this book when I first read it but hearing it on audio is a whole new experience. Stephanie Kay and Tyler Darby did a great job bringing Peyton and Xander’s story to life. The angst hits you straight in the feels and you can’t help but root for this pair to get their hea. Such a great audio.

Peyton & Xander

I am not sure what kind of magic LA Cotton put in this, but I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this kind of forbidden romance as much as I did. I love a forbidden romance between a student and teacher but I really didn’t think I could get behind the student being in high school. All those thoughts went right out the window and I completely fell in love with Peyton and Xander. Peyton has been through a lot and she really deserved someone to fight for her. Xander may have had some reservations at times and been a coward at times, but he was the perfect person for the job. He saw Peyton for who she was.

Phenomenal job by the narrators. They carried this story with so much emotion and power. I really felt like they were Peyton and Xander.

Intense and Beautiful!

This is the second book in the Rixon High series. Peyton and Xander's age gap and forbidden romance is intense, complex, and beautiful. They are both two broken and lost souls, and they are perfect together. Peyton is such a wonderful and strong character. Her story is heartbreaking. Xander is handsome, enigmatic, and caring. Their story is grippingly well written, and captivating, filled with angst, and heartbreaking scenes. The supporting characters are great. I like the friendship in this story. The ending is beautiful and heartwarming. Stefanie Kay and Tyler Darby did a fantastic with the narration. They are perfect as Peyton and Xander. I am looking forward for more in the series. #TheFlock